Many homebuyers don’t have enough cash on hand to make a 20 percent down payment, which means that they generally are required to pay for mortgage insurance as part of their monthly mortgage payment. This insurance protects lenders when a borrower defaults on the loan.

Until late 2014, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac required down payments of at least 10 percent. The requirement pushed many homebuyers into Federal Housing Administration-insured loans, which have a minimum down payment of 3.5 percent. The problem is that FHA premiums are costlier than private mortgage insurance.

But in 2015, qualified borrowers will be able to get Fannie- and Freddie-backed mortgages with down payments as little as 3 percent. Mortgage insurance premiums vary according to credit score and size of down payment, but private mortgage insurance premiums generally are more affordable than FHA premiums.

GET A THOROUGH PREAPPROVAL

Not only do sellers often prefer buyers who come preapproved by a lender, making their offers more attractive, but a preapproved mortgage also can help you avoid any hiccups down the line.

With a real preapproval, a mortgage broker or bank loan officer will pull your credit report and submit supporting documentation to their automated underwriting system. This allows the bank to give you more accurate terms based on your actual credit score, debt obligations and income, instead of relying on your estimates. It also puts you ahead of the process when you finally go into contract and could help you close faster.

MAINTAIN YOUR CREDIT PROFILE

In the months leading to your home purchase, avoid changing your credit obligations, especially between a preapproval and the closing of your mortgage. The reason? It could hurt your credit score in a way that would raise the rate and fees related to your loan or, at worst, keep you from qualifying altogether.

GET ORGANIZED

Gather and keep every piece of financial paper in the two months leading up to buying a house. That means pay stubs, bank statements for savings, checking and investment accounts, W-2s, tax returns for the previous two years, canceled rent checks and any mortgage or property tax statements for other property you own.

DON’T MOVE MONEY AROUND

In the months leading up to your home purchase, keep your hands off your finances. That includes moving money from a savings account into a certificate of deposit, or CD. It also means no cashing in investments from stocks, retirement accounts or CDs. Otherwise, you will create a huge headache for yourself as you try to show the bank the paper trail of where that money came from. In a similar vein, avoid paying off debts with savings because that could cause your lender to worry about how you will pay for closing costs.

PREPARE TO WRITE LETTERS

Lenders these days scrutinize every corner of your financial life, and if something looks funny, even just a little bit, they will want to know why. That means you will have to write letters explaining the oddity.

GET YOUR GIFT EARLY

If a family member is gifting some or all of your down payment, make sure it’s deposited in your bank account more than two months before you apply for a mortgage. That way, the bank won’t need to source the large deposit.

SELF-EMPLOYED? PLAN AHEAD EVEN MORE

Self-employed borrowers have a higher hurdle to overcome after stricter mortgage requirements went into effect in 2014. The rules require documentation of income that includes two years’ worth of tax returns, a typically unreliable record of a self-employed person’s take-home pay.

To get around it, self-employed borrowers should plan to take fewer deductions the years before buying a house to boost their overall income. If they can’t, they may consider a co-signer on the loan whose income is documented by W-2 statements. Otherwise, they may need to search out an unconventional loan that can qualify them based on bank statements alone.

KNOW YOUR REFI MAGIC NUMBER

If you’re thinking about refinancing your home loan, figure out what mortgage rate you need. It’s not an easy number to calculate because you need to look at a host of factors regarding your loan, including what you want to get out of the refinance.

GET CREATIVE WITH A REVERSE MORTGAGE

Older homebuyers, especially those with fixed incomes, may want to consider a reverse mortgage to buy a home instead of draining retirement funds. A reverse mortgage lender contributes up to 52 percent of the sales price of a new home, while the senior, who must be at least 62 years old, comes up with the rest. The house is titled in the borrower’s name, but the lender retains a security interest in it. There are no monthly payments, and when the home is sold or no longer the borrower’s primary residence, the reverse mortgage must be repaid. Any remaining equity belongs to the borrower, heirs or estate.

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